Security lightning-arrester.



No. 333,303. PATENTED MAR.31,19(58.

SECURITY LIGHTNING ARRE STER.

APPLIUATIOH 111mm rm. 21, 1307.

lwwzntoe Drake WILLIAM E. DRAKE, oF GRANDQISLANENEBRASKA. I

sacmu'ry msnrnnre-nnnns'raaf Specification of Letters Patent.

recanted March 31, 1908.

Application filed February 1907. Serial No. 358,572.

To all whom it may concern-f I Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. DRAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Island, in the county of. Hall and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Improvement in a Security Lightning- Arrester, of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of devices commonly known as lightning rods and which I have termed as a more appropriate name "a lightning arrester.

My invention is not one adapted for the protection of buildings and other objects from damageby lightning in the usual manner but is also ada ted for use as a lightning arresterin connection with electrical wires entering a building.

The invention is also useful when a plied to a building as a safe-guard against eavy winds as the building 18 securely anchored to the ground by the conductors which also serve as an important part of the lightning arrester.

' abi its efficiency in preventing such'dlscharges by maintaining an equilibrium between the e ectrification of a passin cloud, or the atmosphere in general an building or the ground in the immediate neighborhood of the building so rotected.

It is supplos e are due to t in potential between the earth and a cloud above the earth or between the cloud and roof of a building and that the dischar e is a sudden equalization of potential an that the discharge may take place either downward or upward. Also that the discharge is greatly facilitated by sharp oints or elevations rising to a point throug the comparathat disruptive discharges tive ease with which the charge of elecgrounding said oints, a difference of otential in the nei borhood of the buil ing is avoided by afi brding an easy path for the ap red to cylindrical conductors.

efact that there is a difference flow of the current thereby preventing such a difference in potential as would produce a disruptive discharge. r In my invention I have embodied this theory and have provided electrical conductors with a very large number of manufactured separate from the con uctor itself, and readily a plied in any number to the building along tihe line of the conductor and have also provided means b which these points may be partially e ectrified thereby rendering still more easy the escape of electricity from or to the surrounding atmosphere. In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a dlagrammatic re resentation of the end of a building oints tail erspective view of a form of point to be Fig. is a etail pers ctive view of a form of point best adapte for use with flat conductors. Fig. 4 is a detail section through a form of, needle, showing the same ap lied to the crest of a building,-a portionv of t he roof. bein in section. Fig. 5 is, a detail view partlybro en away showing the manner of applying. the points shown m Fig. 2 to an arrester forprotecting electrical wires entering buildings. Fig. 6 is a plan view of an anchor. a plan view looking down upon a polnt or needle such as is shown in Fig. 2.

In these drawings A represents a conductor ofany kind, c lindrical, twisted or flat.

These conductors ave their lower ends .embedded in the ground and ass through a triangular anchor plate B which has seprated edges B. The conductors A are securely keyed or otherwise held in the anchor plate and as shown in Fig. 1 extends some distance below them. These anchor plates not only serve to anchor the building or other object over which the conductor wires A are passed and thus protect them from heav winds, but also by reason of their large surf aces and their many points they aid greatly indistributing gradually the electrical current into the round.

In equipping a building with m system the conductors A are passed entire y over it and are secured upon opposite sides of the building to suitable anchors and all-chimneys cupolas, gables, peaks and other high oints.

upon the building are to be provide wi'th'f-f similar conductors which are either conpassage of the spikes.

nected to the main wires or also extend to the ground where they are anchored as shown in Fig. 1. Placed along all of these conductors and their branches are suitable needles. These needles are constructed as follows :I take a metal bracket as shown at C and D, the bracket at C being adapted for use in connection with c lindrical or twisted conductors, and that at being best ada ted for use with plain, flat metal strips. As t ese brackets are substantially the same withhthe exception of the shape, a description of the form shown in Fig. 2 will be sufficient to make the construction clear. The bracket 0 is provided with foot ortions C and its bowed portion is provide with an upwardly projecting needle C formed integral with the racket and it is applied to the building by placing it over the conductor A and securing it by means of suitable spikes C which are driven through the foot portions, these foot portions being suitabl perforated for the heses ikes also ass through one or more sets of dlsks C, w 'ch disks when the device is in osition raised between the roof of the bui ding and the foot ortions C and upon each side of and out 0 contact with the conductor A. Each set of disks consists preferably in a copper and a zinc disk and form batteries, enerating under proper atmospheric con itions a small amount of current which electrifies the oint C.

here the conductor A passes over the crest of a building I employ a needle E which is perforated for the passage of said conduc tor A and the needle carries a pole E which extends down through a rafter or ridge pole and is locked in place by a nut E. DlSkS E of copper and zinc are interposed between the crest of the building and the base of the needle E. When protection is to be had in the case of an electrical wire such as a telephone wire, entering the building I employ a semi-circular ring F through which the electrical wire G centrally passes and the conductor'wires A lead up from the ground to and around the inside of the ri Fand back again to the ground, both en' s being anchored by one of the plates B. The conductor wire is secured to the ring F b means of a continuous row of needles of t e form shown in Fig. 5 according to the'kind of conductor wire employed. The needles point inwardly and form almost a complete ring of points about the wire G and would receive and convey to the ground any heavy overload of current u on the wire, such as would be caused by a 'ghtning stroke.

It will be understood that in appl ing my system to a buildin the number 0 needles may run from a ew hundred to several thousand according to the size of the building, and that where ornamental effects are desired the may be formed in ornamental designs wit out in an way altering the main idea as illustrated in igs. 2 and 3.

Havin thus fully described my invention, what I cIaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is v 1. A device of the kind described comprising a conductor of electricity, means for grounding the ends of said conductor, a semi-circular rin inclosing an electrical wire, the conductor 00 ing around said wire within the ring, an a plurality of brackets provided with needles, said brackets being secured to the ring and straddlin the conductor as and'for the urpose set iiorth.

2. A device of the kind described comprising conductor wires, anchor plates through which said wires pass and to which they are secured, said plates having serrated edges and a plurality of needles carrying brackets having bowed portions, said brackets straddling the conductor.

WILLIAM E. DRAKE.

Witnesses:

B. H. PAINE D. Brs nor. 

